FOLDABLE SUPPORTING STAND FOR A PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE
A foldable supporting stand for a portable electronic device includes: a base body having front and rear sides; two front legs adapted to hold the electronic device and coupled to the base body in proximity to the front side, the front legs being foldable to move toward each other, or unfoldable to move away from each other in opposite sideward directions; and a rear leg including a rear leg body that is coupled to the base body in proximity to the rear side and that can be folded to move toward the front legs, or unfolded to move rearward and away from the front legs, and a rear leg extension foldably connected to the rear leg body. The rear leg body defines a receiving space for the rear leg extension to be received therein.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a foldable supporting stand, and more particularly to a foldable supporting stand for a portable electronic device, by which an inclination angle of the portable electronic device can be varied.
2. Description of the Related Art
Although a portable electronic device, such as a laptop computer or a tablet PC, can be disposed on a flat table surface, user operation of the electronic device on the table surface is inconvenient. In order to dispose a portable electronic device in a desired orientation, U.S. Pat. No. 7,712,719 discloses a foldable supporting stand, in which a pair of front legs are rotatably coupled to a rear leg, and are adjustable in length. Thus, the portable electronic device can be disposed on the conventional supporting stand to have a desired inclination angle by adjusting the length of the front legs of the supporting stand. However, the structure and the assembly of the conventional supporting stand are relatively complicated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONTherefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a foldable supporting stand that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks associated with the prior art.
Accordingly, a foldable supporting stand for a portable electronic device of this invention comprises:
a base body having front and rear sides;
two front legs adapted to hold the electronic device and coupled to the base body in proximity to the front side, the front legs being foldable to move toward each other, or unfoldable to move away from each other in opposite sideward directions; and
a rear leg including a rear leg body that is coupled to the base body in proximity to the rear side and that can be folded to move toward the front legs, or unfolded to move rearward and away from the front legs, and a rear leg extension foldably connected to the rear leg body, the rear leg body defining a receiving space for the rear leg extension to be received therein.
The front legs are inclined when the rear leg moves rearward, and an inclination angle of the front legs varies when the rear leg extension changes between a folded configuration, in which the rear leg extension is received in the receiving space, and an unfolded configuration, in which the rear leg extension is moved away from the receiving space.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to
Referring to
Each of the left and right pivot parts 22 includes a first pivot hole 221 extending through the respective pivot part 22 in a left-right direction, and a second pivot hole 222 extending through the respective pivot part 22 in a rear-front direction. As best shown in
The front legs 3 are adapted to hold the electronic device 1 (see
The upper pivot part 311 of each front leg 3 extends into one of the second gap 25 of the base body 2, and includes an abutting face 313 that faces another abutting face 313 of the adjacent front leg 3 to limit an unfolding degree of the front legs 3, and a non-circular pivot hole 314 that extends through the respective upper pivot part 311 in the rear-front direction.
The lower end 312 of each front leg 3 has a substantially U-shape, and includes two substantially parallel plate sections 315 having different lengths, and a bottom plate section 316 interconnecting bottom ends of the parallel plate sections 315.
The second pivot shaft 321 of each front leg 3 extends into the respective second pivot hole 222, the respective pivot hole 314 and the respective blind hole 231, and has a front portion 324 inserted in the respective non-circular pivot hole 314 to engage the upper pivot part 311 of the respective front leg 3 for co-rotation, and a rear portion 325 opposite to the front portion 324.
The resilient second sleeve member 322 of each front leg 3 is sleeved on the rear portion 325 of the respective second pivot shaft 321, and is inserted non-rotatably in the base body 2. The second sleeve member 322 of each front leg 3 grips resiliently the respective second pivot shaft 321 to limit the second pivot shaft 321 from rotation when no external force is exerted on the second pivot shaft 321. As best shown in
The stopper 33 of each front leg 3 includes a folding arm 333 that has a bottom pivot part 331 received between the parallel plate sections 315, a pivot pin 332 connecting pivotally the bottom pivot part 331 to the parallel plate sections 315, a top free end 330 (see
The rear leg 4 includes a rear leg body 41, a rear leg extension 43, and a rear leg pivot shaft 44. The rear leg body 41 is coupled to the base body 2 in proximity to the rear side, and can be folded to move toward the front legs 3, or unfolded to move rearward and away from the front legs 3. By extension of the rear leg pivot shaft 44 into the rear leg body 41 and the rear leg extension 43, the rear leg extension 43 is foldably connected to the rear leg body 41. The rear leg body 41 includes a substantially U-shaped frame 412 defining a receiving space 411, and the rear leg pivot part 413 has a rear pivot hole 410 and is pivotally connected between the left and right pivot parts 22 of the base body 2. As best shown in
In this preferred embodiment, the rear leg 4 further includes two first pivot shafts 421 and two resilient first sleeve members 422. As best shown in
Each first sleeve member 422 is sleeved on the outer portion 424 of the respective first pivot shaft 421, and is inserted non-rotatably in the base body 2. Each first sleeve member 422 grips resiliently the respective first pivot shaft 421 to limit the respective first pivot shaft 421 from rotation when no external force is exerted on the first pivot shaft 421. As best shown in
The rear leg extension 43 is coupled foldably and unfoldably to the rear leg body 41, and has two outer sidewalls 430, two sidewall protrusions 432 respectively protruding from the two outer sidewalls 430, and two sidewall recesses 431 indented from the outer sidewalls 430 (see
Referring to
When unfolding the rear leg body 41, the rear leg body 41 is rotated rearward together with the first pivot shafts 421, and the front legs 3 are inclined. Because the inner portion 423 of each first pivot shaft 421 co-rotates with the rear leg body 41, and because the first sleeve member 422 sleeved on the outer portion 424 of the respective first pivot shaft 421 is inserted non-rotatably in the base body 2, the rear leg body 41 can be retained at any desired inclined position. However, when the rear leg pivot part 413 moves to abut against a surface between the left and right pivot parts 22 (see
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations and equivalent arrangements.
Claims
1. A foldable supporting stand for a portable electronic device, comprising:
- a base body having front and rear sides;
- two front legs adapted to hold the electronic device and coupled to said base body in proximity to said front side, said front legs being foldable to move toward each other, or unfoldable to move away from each other in opposite sideward directions; and
- a rear leg including a rear leg body that is coupled to said base body in proximity to said rear side and that can be folded to move toward said front legs, or unfolded to move rearward and away from said front legs, and a rear leg extension foldably connected to said rear leg body, said rear leg body defining a receiving space for said rear leg extension to be received therein;
- wherein said front legs are inclined when said rear leg moves rearward, and an inclination angle of said front legs varies when said rear leg extension changes between a folded configuration, in which said rear leg extension is received in said receiving space, and an unfolded configuration, in which said rear leg extension is moved away from said receiving space.
2. The foldable supporting stand of claim 1, wherein said rear leg body includes a frame defining said receiving space, and a rear leg pivot part pivotally connected to said base body.
3. The foldable supporting stand of claim 2, wherein said base body has:
- a first pivot shaft extending into said base body and said rear leg pivot part and engaging said rear leg pivot part for co-rotation; and
- a resilient first sleeve member sleeved around said first pivot shaft and inserted non-rotatably in said base body, said first sleeve member gripping resiliently said first pivot shaft to limit said first pivot shaft from rotation when no external force is exerted on said first pivot shaft.
4. The foldable supporting stand of claim 3, wherein each of said front legs includes:
- an upper pivot part;
- a lower end that is opposite to said upper pivot part;
- a stopper connected to said lower end;
- a second pivot shaft extending into said base body and said upper pivot part, said second pivot shaft being engaged with said upper pivot part for co-rotation; and
- a resilient second sleeve member sleeved around said second pivot shaft and inserted non-rotatably in said base body, said second sleeve member gripping resiliently said second pivot shaft to limit said second pivot shaft from rotation when no external force is exerted on said second pivot shaft.
5. The foldable supporting stand of claim 4, wherein said lower end of each of said front legs has a substantially U-shape, and includes two substantially parallel plate sections, and a bottom plate section interconnecting bottom ends of said parallel plate sections, said stopper including a folding arm that has a bottom pivot part received between said parallel plate sections, a pivot pin connecting pivotally said bottom pivot part to said parallel plate sections, a top free end, and a plurality of anti-slip grooves disposed between said top free end and said bottom pivot part, said bottom pivot part having an abutment face abutting against said bottom plate section when said folding arm is unfolded.
6. The foldable supporting stand of claim 2, wherein said frame includes two spaced apart inner walls bounding said receiving space, two wall protrusions respectively protruding into said receiving space from said two inner walls, and two wall recesses respectively indented from said two inner walls; and wherein said rear leg extension includes two outer sidewalls to respectively face said two inner walls when said rear leg extension is received in said receiving space, two sidewall protrusions respectively protruding from said two outer sidewalls to respectively engage said wall recesses, and two sidewall recesses indented from said outer sidewalls to respectively engage said wall protrusions.
7. The foldable supporting stand of claim 1, wherein said base body further has a front panel disposed at said front side, left and right spaced apart pivot parts extending downwardly from said base body in proximity to said rear side, a first gap that is formed between said left and right pivot parts and that opens at said rear side of said base body to receive a part of said rear leg, and two second gaps each of which is formed between said front panel and one of said left and right pivot parts and each of which opens at one of left and right sides of said base body to receive a part of one of said front legs, said part of said rear leg being pivoted to said left and right pivot parts, said part of each of said front legs being pivoted to one of said left and right pivot parts.
8. The foldable supporting stand of claim 7, wherein said base body further has a first pivot hole extending through at least one of said left and right pivot parts, a first pivot shaft extending into said first pivot hole and said part of said rear leg, two second pivot holes each extending through one of said left and right pivot parts, and two second pivot shaft each extending through one of said second pivot holes and one of said parts of said front legs.
9. The foldable supporting stand of claim 4, wherein:
- each of said first and second pivot holes includes a circular hole section, and a radial hole section extending radially from said circular hole section; and
- each of said first and second sleeve members has a substantially C-shaped cross section disposed within said circular hole section, and a radial projection extending into said radial hole section to restrict rotation of said first or second sleeve member.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 6, 2011
Publication Date: Jan 10, 2013
Patent Grant number: 8550421
Applicant: FREE-FREE INDUSTRIAL CORP. (Taipei City)
Inventor: Sheng-Yu LIU (Taipei City)
Application Number: 13/177,083
International Classification: H05K 7/00 (20060101); F16M 11/04 (20060101); F16M 11/10 (20060101); F16M 11/38 (20060101);